Worse flint ever?

[ebiggs1]

What is the worst flint you ever used?
This has to be a good candidate. If you look at it closely,you can see it is broken into four pieces. I used super glue gel to glue them back together. Then it started losing pieces from it’s front. It still SHOT! It got too short, however.

Why do this? Curiosity I guess.

 

[duckhunt93]

well if it works. then there's no point in not using it.

 

[lakota]

Is that a french amber flint?

I was going to order one from Dixie but the few reviews that they have are unfavorable and 10 bucks is a bit steep for one flint.

 

[RickD]

Now thats being thrifty

 

[texcl]

I've had flints explode on the first strike, usually caused by me getting creative with the way I mount the flint.

 

[ebiggs1]

This is/was a Tom Fuller flint. It probably sparked 30 times before it started to break. So I had some super glue and curiosoty got the best of me. I glued it. It sparked another several times and broke again crosswise.. Where is that super glue? I reinstalled it and it again sparked a few more times and then the front edge started to break off. Its too short now.

 

[torn moc]

Ten Bucks for one Flint? have they gone up that much???

 

[PrimitiveHunter]

This is/was a Tom Fuller flint. It probably sparked 30 times before it started to break. So I had some super glue and curiosoty got the best of me. I glued it. It sparked another several times and broke again crosswise.. Where is that super glue? I reinstalled it and it again sparked a few more times and then the front edge started to break off. Its too short now.

I'm going to take a shot in the dark because I don't know anything about his flints but I've been knapping for 20+ years and have a lot of experience with flint. Your experience with the flint gives me strong suspicion that the flint has been heat treated. In fact, it acts like it has been over-cooked. Knappers heat treat flint to make it easier to knap arrowheads, spear points, knives, etc. It makes the flint more glass-like which makes it tons easier to knap but also makes it much more prone to fracturing; just like a piece of glass.

I could be all wrong but I've been cooking flint for a long time and have seen this condition more times than I can count.

 

[henry65]

you should try a rich pierce flint if you haven't allready.14.00 a dozen .I have one in my gun right now with almost 100 shots on it and have not had to touch it yet :thumbsup:

 

[colten]

how would you go about getting Rich Pierce flints?

 

[lonehunter]

He is a member here on this forum. Do a search on his name and it will give you his website. Great flints! :v

 

[ebiggs1]

I use his flints, too. I have one in my GPR as we speak. I have not yet hit 100 strikes but I have gotten to 90ish on a couple.

 

[hanshi]

I have a TF flint in a rifle that appears to be cracked. Afraid to remove it to see. Don't want it to fall apart like yours.

I had a black flint once that fired about three shots (several tries) and then was just a dead stone after that. That is the worst one I've ever had. Had a few others over the years that certainly didn't earn their keep but nothing as lousy as that bad one.

 

[jtmattison]

Is that a french amber flint?

I was going to order one from Dixie but the few reviews that they have are unfavorable and 10 bucks is a bit steep for one flint.

Ten bucks!

You should shop at Track Of The Wolf.

HD

 

[iron maiden]

Horst & McCann also sells the French amber flints. I bought some made by Jean Jacques Dutrieux...he was a nice guy to deal with over the years.

 

[jbwilliams3]

Rich Pierce’s new, preferred contact email for flint is [email protected]. His prices increased a little in April, but he still makes very durable flints for a very good price. I honestly don’t remember how many shots I’ve taken with one of his flints that is currently in my rifle. That probably means it’s been a while.

 

[ericb]

I agree with Primitive - And I'm sure he'd agree that You gotta know what you're doing if you heat treat English Flint; it's pretty unforgiving in this respect...
Eric

 

[ericb]

Just received some 1" Fuller Flints. I do a lot of Knapping, and have a Kiln for heat treating various flints. The one flint I received arrived broken, & in my opinion, shows clear signs of being "over-cooked". I have noticed a high rate of failure with the 1" Fuller flints I have received as of late. English flint in particular does not take kindly to thermal abuse. It doesn't like heat, and most knappers I know leave it alone in this respect. In all fairness I will say that the failures I have experienced may be the result of a single aberrant bad batch, and I by no means wish to issue a general condemnation. Fuller's been around a long time, and has my complete respect. Lord knows I've ruined a batch ot two of flint in my time.

My 2 cent's worth anyway...in meantime I shall be looking for another source.

Eric

 

[brubincam]

-----do not heat treat rifle flints--makes them soft & brittle----- :idunno:

 

[ericb]

Exactly - English Flint is a true Flint - and by definition they don't like heat. It's routinely done with a lot of the American Cherts, etc, with good results, and there's plenty of evidence that the Native Aboriginals did it here. But definitely a NoNo with good "British Squid-Ink Black".

That having been said, some of the real Knapping Pros will heat some of the true flints, but it is a real delicate operation; a few degrees one way or the other can ruin a batch of good flint - don't do this at home. And bear in mind that these guys are making points largely for display & presentation - not for slamming into big French/British Musket Frizzens....or shoving into Mastodon Butts....

Eric ("urkrok" for those of you who visit the Paleo Planet Website - which I recommend for further reading for those interested in the subject)